Unitarian Universalists honor and celebrate a wide range of holidays and occasions over the course of a year. Unlike other faith traditions that use a single lectionary (a collection of scripture readings appointed for a given day or occasion), the topics and themes for Unitarian Universalist worship services are usually chosen independently by worship leaders in congregations. These include unique UU traditions, like the Flower Ceremony, as well as holidays from other faith traditions, such as Christmas or Beltane.
View and download the 2023-24 UUA Worship Calendar (PDF), which includes faith-based and secular holidays that UU congregations often celebrate. The calendar also includes monthly worship themes used in popular theme-based ministry programs. To download or print, follow the link and use the File menu, then select the Landscape layout option.
Search Words for Worship Services
Displaying 1681 – 1700 of 3317
Changing a filter will refresh results (and remaining options) immediately. Searching by keyword requires use of the "Search" button.
-
This ritual was designed as part of a worship service/fire communion. Please see that holiday description for more details. Leader: Today’s service is about letting go, metaphoric cleansing and quenching of thirst, setting of intentions, self-anointing, healing, new beginnings and possibilities.Ritual | By Lois Van Leer | May 3, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Earth-Centered, Fire Communion, Hope, Letting Go, New Year, Purpose, Spiritual Practice, Wisdom -
Having let go, Set our intentions, Named our curiosity, Committed our energies, And given ourselves over to lives of balance, purpose and meaning, Let us begin again In love...Closing | By Lois Van Leer | May 3, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beginnings, Ending, Hope, Journey, Letting Go, Love, New Year -
Fertility in social movements and among people is not something we control. We cannot make new life like we make plans or money. It's hard to be fertile when we are not grounded. Fertility is about making new life that becomes self-determining: that does not belong to us. If we drain ourselves as...Reading | By Caitlin Breedlove | May 3, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Community, Creativity, Direct Experience, Leadership, Unitarian Universalism, Unity
-
Here is where I found my voice and chose to be brave. Here’s a place where I forgave someone, against my better judgment, and I survived that, and unexpectedly, amazingly, I became wiser. Here’s where I was once forgiven, was ready for once in my life to receive forgiveness and to be...Meditation | By Victoria Safford | May 2, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Calling, Courage, Direct Experience, Growth, Journey, Letting Go, Mystery -
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." This quote has been widely attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr.Quote | May 2, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Activism, Integrity, Living Our Faith, Power, Purpose, Seven Principles, Solidarity, Strength
-
"There is no question for which compassion is not the answer."...Quote | By Judith Hanson Lasater | May 2, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Compassion, Direct Experience, Integrity, Kindness, Living Our Faith, Purpose -
As we move through life finding ourselves, always newly wise and newly foolish, we ask that our mistakes be small and not hurtful. We ask that as we gain experience we do not forget our innocence, for they are both part of the whole.Responsive Reading | By Orlanda R Brugnola | April 27, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Direct Experience, Forgiveness, Humility, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness, Wisdom
-
If we have any hope of transforming the world and changing ourselves, we must be bold enough to step into our discomfort, brave enough to be clumsy there, loving enough to forgive ourselves and others. May we, as a people of faith, be granted the strength to be so bold, so brave, and so loving.Prayer | By Joseph M. Cherry | April 27, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Brokenness, Courage, Direct Experience, Discernment, Forgiveness, Humility, Relationships, Transformation -
Prayer of Thanks for Hoes & Scythes & Spatulas & Toothbrushes & Binoculars & the Myriad Other Tools & Instruments That Fit Our Hands So Gracefully & Allow Us to Work with a Semblance of Deftitude Lovely little inventions, just right for the job at hand—a lawn edger, for example, or an arrow, or...Prayer | By Brian Doyle | April 27, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Calling, Choice, Direct Experience, God, Imagination, Mystery, Power, Purpose, Responsibility, Wonder -
Sisters, I stand before you without homily or lecture or opinion. I stand here naked on the page. I stand here with my hands extended in helpless prayer. I will never know your pain. I will never know your agony of spirit. I will never know the dark nights of your souls. I will never know the...Prayer | By Brian Doyle | April 20, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Body, Children, Choice, Compassion, Direct Experience, Healing, Health, Reproductive Justice -
For decades prior to my mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, we had suffered a strained relationship born from her alcoholism. When I learned she had Alzheimer’s, my hope for forgiveness and reconciliation drained away, along with her cognitive abilities. But the world of Alzheimer’s teems...Reading | By Jade C. Angelica | April 18, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Aging, Caring, Children, Direct Experience, Family, Forgiveness, Mother's Day, Mothers, Transformation -
!["We [heart] our Muslim neighbors" in Arabic and English, with the Standing on the Side of Love heart logo](/files/styles/max_320x320/public/png/s/ssl_muslim_neighbors_long.png?itok=NX79C7B2 "Image courtesy Maryah Converse")
Image | By Maryah Converse | April 18, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, America, Anti-Oppression, Community, Hospitality, Immigration, International, Islam, Living Our Faith, Love, Unity -
!["We [heart] our Muslim neighbors" in Arabic and English, with the Standing Side of Love heart logo](/files/styles/max_320x320/public/png/s/ssl_muslim_neighbors_square.png?itok=xkb86bLz "Image courtesy Maryah Converse")
Image | By Maryah Converse | April 18, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, America, Anti-Oppression, Community, Hospitality, Immigration, Inclusion, International, Islam, Unity -
Image | By Maryah Converse | April 15, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, America, Anti-Oppression, Community, Hospitality, Immigration, Inclusion, Interdependence, International, Islam, Justice, Unity -
Image | By Maryah Converse | April 15, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 2nd Principle (Justice, Equity, & Compassion), 6th Principle (World Community), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Acceptance, Anti-Oppression, Community, Compassion, Hospitality, Inclusion, International, Islam, Unity -
For those we miss. For things long gone. For those who or what we last held in our arms, in our hands and in our hearts — we pray. We pray for memories to stay strong Memories of words and warmth, of actions and stillness. We pray for Love shared and lived, Love to remain with us and with them,...Prayer | By Patricia Shelden | April 13, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: All Souls Day, Animal Memorial, Brokenness, Death, Ending, Grief, Healing, Letting Go, Memorial Day, Memorial Services, Remembrance Day -
In this hour of holy stillness we gather to honor the life and the person we love. In this hour of Holy Stillness we remind ourselves that the flames of life and love are never fully extinguished. In this hour of Holy Stillness we offer ourselves for sharing the weight of each other’s grief. In...Opening | By Patricia Shelden | April 13, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Animal Memorial, Death, Día de los Muertos, Ending, Grief, Healing, Holocaust Remembrance / Yom Ha'Shoah, Letting Go, Memorial Day, Memorial Services, Sadness -
The word desire comes from the Latin desiderare: “to long for,” but the Latin desiderare comes from de sidere: “from the stars.” From the stars. I find this extraordinary: to think that somehow our desire, our longing, is connected to the very stars in the sky. The stars, which share their...Reading | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | April 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Connections, Intimacy, Love, Mystery, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sexuality, Wonder -
The religious mystics of every tradition tell us union is what we are here for — union is what we are: we are connected to each other, to the earth, to everything that exists, and to the force that lies beyond it all—only most of the time we don’t realize it. Union is not a myth or a pipe...Reading | By Laura Horton-Ludwig | April 8, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Body, Connections, God, Intimacy, Love, Mystery, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Sexuality, Unity -
Inexplicable. How we rise each morning, instead of burying our heads under bedcovers, sewing them shut. Why we keep on welcoming babies with bone-deep joy to this sordid world. How we fill burlap sacks with grit and gratitude, our hands shredded as we drag one over the other....Poetry | By Karen G. Johnston | April 7, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Balance, Brokenness, Disaster or Crisis, Grief, Hope, Integrity, Limitations, Living Our Faith, Mystery, Wholeness